State Notifies Families They Can Re-apply for Cash Assistance

Thousands of families in Michigan cut off from welfare benefits will get a notice soon in the mail telling them they may still qualify for cash assistance.

The letter says families that lost benefits because they hit a five-year federal limit can re-apply because they might still qualify under state law. That’s according to a judge’s ruling last month after welfare advocates sued the state.

Unlike, the federal time limit, Michigan’s does not count months where an adult stayed home to care for a disabled child, parent, or some other family member.

David Ackerly is with the state Department of Human Services.

“Roughly 13,000 is the number of cases we’re talking about and all those people will get a letter and if, somehow, the letter misses them, we are using other sources of information to comply with that court order,” he says.

Ackerly says that includes a posting on the department’s website and legal notices in newspapers across the state. At the same time, the state is appealing the judge’s ruling.